Israel is forcing a Third Intifada, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, said on Thursday.

“The Palestinian people as a whole are rising up in response to Israeli crimes and abuses across the Palestinian territories, particularly in Jerusalem. Israel’s provocations in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its unprecedented Judiazation in Jerusalem, in addition to its constantly increasing settlement network, have created a deeply entrenched system of racial subjugation,” said Barghouti.

Barghouti added that Israel’s brutally repressive measures in and around Jerusalem would not stop the escalating protests.

Barghouti condemned Israel’s extrajudicial assassination early Thursday morning of Moataz Hijazi, adding that it clearly showed Israel follows the law of the jungle and not the language of law.

In advance of the Muslim holiday on Friday, Barghouti called on the Palestinian people as a whole to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the dignity of the Palestinian people and their freedom.